Journal box lid



July 9, 1940. A. o. BUCKl-US JOURNAL BOX LID Original Filed Oct. 28, 1937' 2 Sheets Shee"c l 8 .m C u n m M a. m T Wm A I HY B M July 9, 1940. A; o. BUCKIUS JOURNAL BOX LID Original Filed Oct. 28, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR qlberl 0. Back ATTORNEY;

Patented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES JOURNAL BOX LID Albert 0. Buckius, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to National Malleable and Steel Casting Company, Cleveland,

Ohio

Ohio, a corporation of Application October 28, 1937, Serial No. 171,458 Renewed December 5, 1939 8 Claims.

This invention relates to lids for journal boxes which permit access to the journal and provide a tight closure so as to prevent entry of dust 6 and other foreign matter into the interior of the box.

An object of my invention is the provision of a novel joint between the two principal parts of the lid whereby relative pivotal movement in any direction is obtained so that the closure part of 10 the lid may bear firmly against the portions of the journal box surrounding the opening even though the axis of the pivotal connection of the closure part of the lid is not parallel to the plane of the lid bearing surface on the journal box. This pivotal connection also provides for the equalization of the forces of the spring means in the lid so that the closure part thereof may bear with substantially equal pressure on all sides of the opening.

A further object of my invention comprises novel mounting of the spring actuated lever on the housing part of the lid so that said lever may have universal pivotal movement relative to the housing. It is well known that even when journal boxes are new and to a greater extent when they have been in service for some time, the hinge lug upon which the lid is mounted and which forms a base of reaction for one end of the spring actuated lever is not exactly the same shape on all boxes. Moreover, the lever contacting portionof the lug is sometimes twisted so that it is at an angle to the plane of the box and if the lever were held against lateral pivotal movement there would be a point contact of the lever on the lug, resulting in an unequal distribution of the forces exerted by the lever on the closure member of the lid. My invention contemplates such a mounting of the lever on the housing as will permit lateral pivotal movement relative 40 thereto, so that the lever may adjust itself to any irregularities in a lateral direction of the lever contacting surface on the hinge lug. In this connection, I have found that best results are obtained by making the spring actuating the 45 lever of larger diameter than those heretofore used and substantially larger in diameter than the width of the hinge lug contacting portion of the lever. Other advantages of my improved lid will be 50 pointed out in the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the lid and a part of the journal 65 box.

Figure 2 is a View in side elevation of the lid applied to a journal box.

Figure 3 is a frontview of the lid partly broken away.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the lever.

Figure 5 is a View showing the inside of the lower portion of the housing member; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the journal box It is formed with an opening II in the forward end thereof, the wall surrounding said opening hav ing a surface l2 engaged by the closure member I3 of the lid. The closure member is depressed at its central portion to form a seat M for'one end of a coil spring I5. A lug 9 projecting outwardly from seat l4 assists in positioning spring l5. At the top of the journal box is the usual hinge lug l6, having surfaces IT and i8 arranged at an angle to each other. An opening IS in the hinge lug receives a pin for pivotally mounting the housing member 2| of the lid on the journal box. As will be apparent from Fig. 3, housing 2| is formed with laterally extending ears 22, 22 which receive portions of the pin 20 extending laterally from the hinge lug. The housing 21 at its lower end is provided with a transverse groove 23 and the closure member [3 is provided with outwardly projecting lugs 24, one adjacent each end of groove 23 for receiving a pin 25 which pivotally joins the housing and-closure member. The bottom of the groove may be cured, as at 26, andthe upper side wall thereof curved, as at 21. so as to provide for relative pivotal movement between the housing and closure members in any direction. The lower side wall 28 is preferably made straight so as to provide sufiicient bearing area to support the weight of member l3 and to resist the pounding action of the trucks going over rail joints. Some clearance is maintained between the center of the pin and surface 21 to allow angling between the housing and closure. Clearance is also present at 33 between each side of the housing and the adjacent surface of the closure to permit this angling movement. It will be observed that lugs 24 have slots 29 longer than the diameter of pin 25. One of the lugs (shown at the right in Fig. 6) has an opening 30 smaller than the diameter of the pin, which opening is used only for supporting the core necessary in the molding ofthe closure member. The other lug 24 (shown at the left in Fig. 6) has an opening 3| large enough to insert and remove pin 25. When the pin is at the top or outer portion of slots 29, endwise movement thereof will be prevented by shoulders 32, 32 and thus, so long as the pin is held in the aforesaid position, it cannot be removed or lost.

Between groove 23 and the top of the housing the latter is formed on its inner side with a ballshaped socket 35, which socket receives the ballshaped projection 33 of lever 31. Limited pivotal movement of the lever relative to the housing may thus readily take place in any direction. At the top and bottom of socket 35 are projections 38, 38 which resist any thrust longitudinally of the lever tending to force the latter out of the socket. The upper end of lever 3'3 has a surface 39 which, when the lid is in closed position, bears against surface l'. of the hinge lug. When the lid is open, as shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. 1, surface 38 of the lever bears on some portion of surface it of the hinge lug. At its lower end the lever has a spring seat portion lii formed as a depression in the lever in such a manner that a rib ll surrounds the end of spring l5 seated in the depression, thus maintaining the spring in position.

I have found that the ball and socket mounting of the lever on the housing permits the lever to readily adjust its angular relation to the box so that a line or surface hearing will occur between surface 33 of the lever and the hinge lug even though the outer surface of the hinge lug is, through wear or improper foundry practice, at an angle to the face of the box. In this manner the pressure of the spring will be applied to the lever so as to cause it to bear on the hinge lug over the lateral extent of the end of the lever. Furthermore, the spring seating portion i l of the closure member is positioned substantially in the center of the lid so that the pressure of the spring will be equally distributed between surfaces #2 at the top, bottom and sides of the opening. A feature of my lid is that it may be applied to different journal boxes having wide variations in the sizes of hinge lugs, without the spring going solid or without decreasing the spring pressure below that necessary to maintain a tight fit between the lid and journal box. This is accomplished by a construction that permits considerable angular movement of lever ill rela-- tive to the housing member, in a direction wherein the upper end of the lever moves toward or away from the hinge lug. Moreover, the pressure-travel characteristics of the spring should be such that it does not go solid when the lid is applied to a box on which the distance from the center of the pivot pin hole to the outer face of the lug is the maximum encountered in service and such that its pressure is not reduced an'undesirable amount when the aforesaid distance is considerably less than normal. I have found it particularly advantageous to employ, in connec tion with the lever and housing arrangement described, a spring of which the diameter is somewhat greater than the width of the hinge lug bearing surface '39 of the lever.

In order to assist the lever 31 to pivot about its longitudinal axis to conform to variations in the shape of the journal box lug, it is desirable to maintain the center of curvature of ball 36 substantially on or closely adjacent a line drawn through substantially the center of area of contact of the lever on the lug and through the cen ter of the spring bearing portion of the lever. In this way the lever will pivot substantially about the center of curvature of the ball and socket. It

will be observed that the only positive connection between the housing and closure member of the lid is the pin 25. In opening the lid, some means is necessary to limit pivotal movement of the closure relative to the housing. This may take the form of lugs 45 on each side of the closure member and overlying ears 22 of the housing. These lugs, when the lid is in closed position, are spaced from ears 22, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 so as to. allow sufficient movement for proper seating of the closure member on the journal box. However, when the lid is opened by pulling on the lower projection 56 of the closure member, lugs 45 will contact ears 22 and thereafter the housing and closure members will pivot together.

In assembling my improved lid, the lever is placed in socket 35 of the housing with the spring in position between the lever and. closure. The parts are then pressed together until the pin 25 can be inserted to complete the assembly. Pin 25 is normally forced to the outer ends of slots 29 by spring I5 through lever 37 and is thus maintained behind shoulders 32. In applying the lid to the journal box a wedge (shown in dotdash lines in Fig. 1) is forced between the housing and the adjacent portion of lever 31, causing the upper end of the lever to move toward the housing and away from the openings in ears 22. The lid may then be fitted over the hinge lug and pin 28 inserted. The wedge is next removed permitting the upper part of the lever to contact surface l? of lug l6, thus forcing closure I3 against the box under the pressure of spring I5. Housing 2! is slotted at QT to allow insertion of the wedge.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In a journal box having an opening at an end thereof, a closure member for said opening, a housing pivotally joined at one end to said member and at the other end to said journal box, a lever pivotally mounted on said housing for universal movement relative thereto, and spring means between one end of said lever and said closure member, said spring means bearing against said closure member, the other end of said lever engaging said journal box to force the closure against the mouth of said opening.

2. In a journal box having an opening at an end thereof, a closure member for said opening, a housing pivotally joined at one end to said member and at the other end to said journal box, a spherically shaped socket in said housing, a lever having a ball projection mounted in said socket for universal movement relative thereto, means at opposite sides of said socket extending into overlapping relation with said ball for maintaining said lever assembled in said socket, one end of said lever engaging said journal box, and spring means between the other end of said lever and said closure member for urging the latter into close engagement with the walls of said openmg. i

3. In a device of the class described a journal box having an access opening thereinto, a closure member for said opening, a housing member pivotally mounted on said journal box, a pin pivotally joining said members, a lever pivotally mounted on said housing for universal pivotal movement relative thereto, one end of said lever engaging said journal box, and spring means between the other end of said lever and said closure member for maintaining the latter in tight engagement with said journal box, said spring means bearing against said closure member.

4. In a device of the class described a journal box having an access'opening thereinto, a closure for said opening, a housing pivotally mounted on said journal box and positioned outwardly of said closure, said housing having a groove in the outer side thereof and said closure having a pair of outwardly projecting lugs adjacent the ends of said groove, a pin in said groove and extending into openings in said lugs, the Walls of said groove being curved in a plurality of directions to permit universal pivotal movement between said closure and housing, and a spring actuated lever between said housing and closure for moving said closure into engagement with said journal box.

5. In a device of the class described a journal box having an access opening thereinto, a closure for said opening, a housing pivotally mounted on said journal box and positioned outwardly of said closure, said housing having a groove in the outer side thereof and said closure having a pair of outwardly projecting lugs adjacent the ends of said groove, a pin in said groove and extending into openings in said lugs, the walls of said groove being curved in a plurality of directions to permit universal pivotal movement between said closure and housing, and a spring actuated lever between said housing and closure for moving said closure into engagement with said journal box, said lever being mounted on said housing for universal pivotal movement relative thereto.

6. A journal box lid comprising a closure member and a housing member, means joining said members for limited relative pivotal movement in any direction, a ball socket on one of said members, a lever having a ball projection mounted in said socket, one end of said lever being adapted to engage a journal box hinge lug, means projecting inwardly of said lid on opposite sides of said socket and partially encompassing said ball for resisting thrusts longitudinally of said lever tending to force the latter out of said socket, and a spring between the other end of said lever and one of said members for urging said lid into engagement with a journal box when said lid is assembled therewith.

'7. A journal box lid comprising a closure memberand a housing member, means pivotally connecting said members, a spherically shaped socket on one of said members, a lever having a spherically shaped projection mounted in said socket, one end of said lever having a portion adapted to engage a journal box hinge lug, and a spring bers maintaining said lever in said socket.

8. In a device of the class described a journal box having an access opening thereinto, a closure for said opening, a housing pivotally mounted on said journal box and positioned outwardly of said closure, said housing having a groove in the outer side thereof and saidclosure having a pair of outwardly projecting lugs adjacent the ends of said groove, a pin in said groove and extending into openings in said lugs, certain of the walls of said groove being curved in a plurality of directions to permit universal pivotal movement between said closure andv housing, the lowermost wall of said groove being straight in one direction so as ALBERT O. BUCIUUS. 

